


Silent Night

by missanonyma



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Varchie!Centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:14:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missanonyma/pseuds/missanonyma
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Silent Night

He used to like the quiet.

When he lived on Elm Street, it was always dead silent after 8 pm, the only noise to be heard was crickets chirping or maybe rain hitting the window pane. But since moving in the city he’s grown accustomed to the buzz of life at all hours outside the windows. Especially when he lived in a dorm room in college, there was always _something_ happening.

When he moved in with Veronica at her place, things got quieter, as their apartment was on one of the top floors. And then when they got married and moved into a brownstone on West 71st, the world became dead silent at night.

It’s never been a problem before but lately he’s just been hyper aware of the deafening quietness of the world around him, and it’s driving him crazy.

Right now, he keeps himself grounded on her heartbeat, almost begging it to be louder than the silence. Steady and slow, he can hear it from inches away, her cheek pressed into his shoulder blade and her fingers dancing up and down his spine. It’s almost scary how aware he is of everything around him. Cars below the window, sheets against his skin, Veronica’s breathing, light peeking under the door from the hallway, the quiet bass of her heart beat.

He should be excited, and he is. He’s so lucky, he has a healthy and happy wife, a roof over his head, a good job. And last month, on their one year wedding anniversary, he and Veronica decided they were ready to start trying for a baby.

And he’s so happy about it, because he knows having kids was something Veronica never saw for herself but something changed her mind and he’s just so excited she’s with him and they’re doing this together.

But he also feels like there’s a large shadow just looming over him. All he can think about is his dad. How great of a father he was, and how stupid of a kid Archie was that he let him down time and time again. And when he was seventeen he said goodbye to his dad not knowing that it was really goodbye, he never got the chance to ask Fred the questions he wanted to ask.

Everytime he soaks in the silence after sex like this, knowing tomorrow could very well be the day he finds out there’s a baby growing in Veronica’s stomach, he feels as if he’s going to ruin this child like he ruins everything else in his life. He doesn’t want to be a screw up, he doesn’t know how he can be a father when he doesn’t have Fred here to teach him how or give him advice like a father does.

He doesn’t know how to do this on his own. For the first time in a long time he’s feeling Fred’s loss so heavily he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“How about yellow?” she whispers, he can feel her little smile against his shoulder blade and it makes him twinge with guilt, knowing she’s ecstatic while he’s wallowing in fear.

He grunts in response, silently asking for her to elaborate.

“For the nursery. I mean it’s a good gender neutral color…”

“You’re not even pregnant yet, why are you thinking about paint colors?” he chuckles softly, trying to keep calm when he can feel his heart beat rising rapidly thinking about it all. A baby. His dad. Veronica. He can’t mess this up.

He can tell she was preparing to give him some smart response but stops suddenly, reaching to touch his shoulder.

“You’re really tense, everything okay, lover?”

When he doesn’t respond immediately she begins to tug on his arm until he rolls over to face her.

“Hey, talk to me,” her expression turning worrisome upon seeing his sulking face.

“It’s nothing, Ronnie, I’m happy. Really,” he promises, smiling to look convincing and gathering her up in his arms.

“But you’re not. And I know you hate it when I pretend everything’s fine, so tell me what’s wrong,” she insists, rubbing her thumb between his brows and smoothing out the furrow of his brow where he holds tension.

“It’s just… I’ve been thinking about my dad. A lot.”

He takes a deep breath, trying to focus on her breath so as to not psych himself out.

“Ronnie, I want to have a baby with you, I do. So badly,” he promises and holds their left hands together, intertwining their fingers that hold their wedding bands. He stares at their hands, calluses clashing with perfect skin. “But I’m scared. I’m really fucking scared.”

She stays quiet, listening attentively and carefully.

“I don’t know how to do this, I’m scared I’m gonna mess up so badly I ruin this kid's life, I’m pretty much certain I’m never gonna be as good of a father as my dad, and I don’t know what to do. I always thought I’d have my dad here to walk me through this stuff,” he confesses, eyes welling up with tears.

“I… I mean, I’ve been thinking about him a lot. The engagement and the wedding, I missed him there and talking to him about that stuff. And I’m just mad at myself. I could’ve asked him the questions I want to ask him now, if only I’d just stopped for a second and thought about the future instead of the present and what I wanted.”

“I’m just… I miss him. So much,” he admits finally, letting the couple tears he’s been holding in fall down his cheek. He hears her mutter something that sounds like pity and makes him want to pull away but when she guides his cheek to rest on her shoulder he succumbs to the embrace.

He can feel her crying too, and for a second all he can hear is her sniffling and he just wants to make it stop. He doesn’t like it when she cries, it might be his least favorite sound of all.

“You are not a screw up, Archie. You are a strong, kind, and loving man, just like your dad was,” she promises, holding him tighter. “I know there’s nothing I can say to magically fix how you're feeling, and I know when you lost your dad you lost what felt like your only real family, but I need you to know I’m gonna be right here and that you’re not alone and we’re gonna figure this out together.”

“I’m scared too, I… I don’t know how to be a mother. God, I barely had a mom, I had a lot of nannies and I had my Abuelita but…” she tugs on his hair gently, making him look at her. Her thumbs wipe away his tears and he feels so small and protected the way she has him wrapped up and cradled in her arms.

“We’re both scared, and probably very unprepared, but I know it’s all going to be fine because I’m doing this with you and you have this amazing natural ability that’s just so domestic and so you. I just know you’re gonna be a great father, maybe like your dad but also like you, Archie. You’re amazing, and everything anyone could ever want in a partner or a friend…”

She scoots down, eye to eye, and so close they’re practically touching noses. He’s not sure when the girl he met as a stupid teenager turned into such a wise _woman_. When did they both get so grown up?

“I know this is scary, but I don’t want this to be something you’re doing just for my sake-”

“No, Ronnie,” he cuts her off, pulling her even closer and looking her deep in the eye. “I want this, I want you, I want to have a baby with you.”

“Okay,” she nods softly. “Then we’re gonna figure this out as we go, you and me.”

“I promise I won’t let you mess up any kid’s childhood if you promise me the same thing,” she jokes, making them both laugh.

“You won’t, you’re you,” he insists, running his thumb across her bottom lip.

“That’s how I feel about you, Archiekins.”

He can’t help but smile, looking into her beautiful eyes and holding her beautiful body, he can do this. He has her. She’s his family.

“So yellow?” he asks, threading his fingers through her hair.

“Well if the baby is gonna be a redhead, we can’t have anything that’ll clash with their hair-”

“What makes you think it’s gonna be a redhead? Isn’t your hair color the dominant gene?” he laughs, loving how enthusiastic she’s being. He can’t wait until this turns from _when_ she’s pregnant to she _is_ pregnant.

“Shh, your dad was brunette and just look at you. Anyways, as I was saying for the nursery…”


End file.
